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Fri May 23, 2025 7:23 am

Pioneer just announced the release of the Pioneer SXT-C10PS retro radio, so I thought I would start a thread specifically for factory/era looking retro radios.

I have had the Continental Continental TR7412UB-OR since just after they came out and I like it just fine, but I LOVE the look of Blaupunkt as well as the new Pioneer, so I may just make a switch in the near future.

Below are a few retro radio options that look fairly "factory" or "era-correct".

Pioneer SXT-C10PS
https://pioneer-car.eu/media/6c/8f/06/1747902958/P...250522.pdf
https://www.thedrive.com/news/the-cassette-deck-on...a-usb-port

Continental TR7412UB-OR
https://www.continental-aftermarket.com/en-en/prod...bbluetooth

Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46 DAB
https://blaupunkt.com/product/bremen-sqr-46-dab/#

Fri May 23, 2025 7:40 am

I'm with you on liking the continental, but loving the other two. I've had my continental in my e30 since the head unit was released. The other two are definitely overpriced, they're trying to sell to that niche that will spend the money on their 80s and 90s cars.

Don't forget the Porsche Classic at $1200
https://www.suncoastparts.com/product/SKUCLASSIC.html

And the actually retro but it has bluetooth and navigation, the Becker Indianapolis Pro. Also expensive af for a 20 year old head unit on ebay for $250-400.

Fri May 23, 2025 8:10 am

I recently got a Blaupunkt Hamburg and love it. Easy install and setup, bluetooth works great with my iPhone 16, sound quality is better than the Pioneer touchscreen radio it replaced, and it looks right at home in the dash. 8)

Fri May 23, 2025 10:36 am

Love the Blaupunkt Frankfurt head unit. So damn expensive though. But it would look really good in the brown dash on my '85

Love that there is a market for retro look with all the modern bits (blue tooth, USB, etc..) and love the aesthetic of hiding that behind what looks like the tape deck door.

Fri May 23, 2025 10:50 am

Those are fun :D

Fri May 23, 2025 11:32 am

I've been drooling over the Hamburg unit for years, but thank you for sharing the Pioneer model, I'll look into it, looks great as well!

Edit, hard to find dimensions, but AI found them, not sure it's accurate, looks deep to me!
The Pioneer SXT-C10PS car stereo has dimensions of 7.8 x 10.2 x 2.5 inches.

Fri May 23, 2025 11:57 am

I recently installed the Blaupunkt Bremen - and LOVE it. Comes with a credit card sized remote control. Connects to my phone via USB port or Bluetooth for music and calls. Wasn't cheap but sounds great and looks period correct.

Fri May 23, 2025 12:10 pm

I like it a lot, knobs and buttons make a great theft deterrent. I have been seeing ads for it but the $450+ price makes it a hard pass for me.

Fri May 23, 2025 1:43 pm

TomInAlaska wrote:

I recently got a Blaupunkt Hamburg and love it. Easy install and setup, bluetooth works great with my iPhone 16, sound quality is better than the Pioneer touchscreen radio it replaced, and it looks right at home in the dash. 8)
That there be a nice climate control instruction sticker. You make that? On most Vans, the operation instructions of the levers is vague

Fri May 23, 2025 2:30 pm

syncrodoka wrote: I like it a lot, knobs and buttons make a great theft deterrent. I have been seeing ads for it but the $450+ price makes it a hard pass for me.

Seriously. Any single DIN radio could be considered "retro" these days IMO. And does anybody still steal car stereos at all??

We just installed a new Alpine single DIN head unit and two pairs of Kicker speakers in my wife's 92 Geo Tracker - all for about $250. It sounds better than... our Westy, my Samurai, and my modern Suby. The VW Alltrack with the Fender system and subwoofer built into the spare tire has it beat though.

Paying such a high a premium just to look old isn't for me.

Fri May 23, 2025 3:28 pm

Blaupunkt Bremen installed in our '89 Westy.

Fri May 23, 2025 4:12 pm

I have the
Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46 DAB
https://blaupunkt.com/product/bremen-sqr-46-dab/#

that came in my Range Rover Classic, and it's pretty awesome.

Fri May 23, 2025 4:44 pm

zerotofifty wrote: TomInAlaska wrote:

I recently got a Blaupunkt Hamburg and love it. Easy install and setup, bluetooth works great with my iPhone 16, sound quality is better than the Pioneer touchscreen radio it replaced, and it looks right at home in the dash. 8)
That there be a nice climate control instruction sticker. You make that? On most Vans, the operation instructions of the levers is vague

That’s from the good folks at GoWesty: https://gowesty.com/products/climate-control-decal-for-vanagon-1

Fri May 23, 2025 4:56 pm

[quote="zerotofifty"] TomInAlaska wrote:
... the operation instructions of the levers is vague

Vauge??? It's Criminal! I drove all sumer with my AC blasting not realizing I had the footwell heat on! :-D

Fri May 23, 2025 5:16 pm

Not ours, but another offering from Crutchfield:

Fri May 23, 2025 6:32 pm

syncrodoka wrote: I like it a lot, knobs and buttons make a great theft deterrent.

Knobs are also a humane way to adjust volume and such.

I'm nearly ready to swap out my head unit since I haven't been satisfied with one for years (light shows, big, cheap displays that hit the shift lever, etc.).

Sat May 24, 2025 1:00 am

jimf909 wrote: syncrodoka wrote: I like it a lot, knobs and buttons make a great theft deterrent.

Knobs are also a humane way to adjust volume and such.

I'm nearly ready to swap out my head unit since I haven't been satisfied with one for years (light shows, big, cheap displays that hit the shift lever, etc.).

Amen, volume should be a knob, period. I also like it for frequency search but it's rare.
I hate the digital ones where it's multifunction buttons, gotta read the manual and remember it, not natural feeling.

Sat May 24, 2025 7:43 am

zerotofifty wrote: TomInAlaska wrote:

That there be a nice climate control instruction sticker. You make that?
On most Vans, the operation instructions of the levers is vague…

FWIW, I originally posted up my text-based version here on Samba in 2014:

…and it only took a couple years for GoWesty to “manufacture” their completely different (white on black) version. Admittedly, their graphics are much better than mine, but at least they kept the Helvetica font.

Such is capitalism… :wink: <shrug>

————

Radio-wise, I just sprung for the Continental unit after watching prices on eBay for a long time. Finally pulled the trigger at $129, shipped. 8)

I maybe like the look of the new Pioneer a bit better, but not 3x the price better. Now to get home and install summa this shtuff I have sitting around…

Keep on a’rockin! :D

- Dave

Sat May 24, 2025 8:44 am

TomInAlaska wrote: zerotofifty wrote: TomInAlaska wrote:

I recently got a Blaupunkt Hamburg and love it. Easy install and setup, bluetooth works great with my iPhone 16, sound quality is better than the Pioneer touchscreen radio it replaced, and it looks right at home in the dash. 8)
That there be a nice climate control instruction sticker. You make that? On most Vans, the operation instructions of the levers is vague

That’s from the good folks at GoWesty: https://gowesty.com/products/climate-control-decal-for-vanagon-1

Originally from the better folks at vanagon.org...
I believe that somewhere here on The Samba, somebody placed a printable free version.

Ah, never mind. See post above my post...

Sat May 24, 2025 1:31 pm

Nice thread idea - I went through this last week, searching for a radio that isn't a gaudy 1999 winamp skin. I found the Blaupunkt Bremen SQR 46 DAB and went with that even though it was expensive.

My review -

It doesn't feel like the price. The buttons are mushy and the knob feels wobbly. All the knobs (which is probably why you want this) are relative - so while the balance, bass, and treble have little notches or indicators to show the neutral "0" position, that does not matter. You can turn the bass knob 4 notches past the max (which is +7) and then when you turn it back to what looks to be "0" it is in fact at -3. The new "0" is at a 2 o'clock position instead of 12 o clock. Does it really matter? But for the price...

The actual audio quality is spectacular BUT I have a caveat to my experience which is that during this install I learned that the P/O reversed the polarity of a speaker when he installed the last crappy radio. So for the entire 7 year duration of me owning this van, it's not that my engine was drowning out the bass, it's that a speaker was out of phase. SO, after correcting that, it feels like an entirely new speaker system that I can even hear at highway speeds. It really blows me away, I'm so happy with it now despite how angry I am at the PO.

Bonus - the radio is short and will not hit the heater blower contraption.

So, despite the build quality and plastic nature of the head - it really looks fucking badass. Color the LEDs the way you want. It is slick. It's a reproduction of a 1986 radio so just feels right for a 1986 van. I am very happy with it.

Note: As of last week there were a number of the original 1986 Blaupunkt radios for sale on ebay. And they look even cooler than this reproduction and are cheaper. I made the call to go with a new model though, because I'm tired of fixing old electronics and don't want to spend money on collecting cassettes.

GOOD LUCK and may more cool looking retro radios appear on the market.